Division I Men

Bryant Finally Gets First Win, Edges Stony Brook

from staff reports

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – Sophomore Shane
Morrell (Glen Mills, Pa.) recorded six points and scored
three times and classmate Kevin Massa (Huntington,
N.Y.) went 19-of-22 from the faceoff X to lead the Bryant
University men's lacrosse team to its first win of the season,
10-9, on the road against Stony Brook University Saturday
afternoon.

A fast-paced shootout for three of the four periods, Saturday's
back-and-forth game featured eight ties and six lead changes, but
none were more important that Morrell's third goal of the day
– the eventual game winner – with 3:19 left in the
contest off a pass from linemate Brian
Schlansker (Glenville, N.Y.) that put the Bulldogs (1-7)
back on top for the final time.

The Seawolves (5-4) got four goals from Brody Eastwood and five
points (3 goals) from Jeff Tundo but couldn't get the equalizer
despite being awarded their fifth man-up opportunity of the outing
with 42 ticks left in regulation.

Massa added a game-best 15 ground balls to his .864 winning
percentage at the X, pacing the Bulldogs to 37 on the day.
Rookie Tom Carey (New Canaan, Conn.) made 10 saves
for the victory, as Bryant outshot Stony Brook, 46-30, on the
afternoon.

The Bulldogs, who were ranked 20th in the preseason by
Lacrosse Magazine, had lost their first seven games, six
by two goals or fewer.

"This might be my 40th year involved in the sport of lacrosse,
and I can't remember a win more rewarding, just because of the
situation we are in," said head coach Mike Pressler.

But the host Seawolves would take the early advantage, scoring
twice in the opening five minutes, both off the stick of Eastwood.
Bulldog rookie Collins Gantz (Denver, Colo.) cut
into Stony Brook's 2-0 lead at the 8:44 mark of the first quarter,
and sophomore Kevin Rudd(Berwyn, Pa.) bounced a shot past
Seawolves goalie Pat McGushin 38 seconds later to knot the score at
2-2 with 8:06 left on the clock.

Bryant would get its third-straight tally and take its first
lead of the game with 5:49 remaining, when – following two
big saves from Carey on straight possessions – the rookie
netminder fed junior leading scorer Alex Zomerfeld (Port
Jefferson, N.Y.) with an outlet pass on the clear, and
Zomerfeld streaked down the side of the field to score an
unassisted transition goal for the 3-2 edge.

But Eastwood answered for the home side with 1:12 left in the
period, completing his hat trick to score all three of Stony
Brook's tallies and even the game at 3-3 entering the second
stanza.

SBU would go back on top just over two minutes into the second
quarter, as Tundo got in on the action for the hosts, netting his
own unaided score for a 4-3 advantage.

From there, it would take more than six minutes, but Gantz would
get the Black and Gold back on the scoreboard to tie the game once
again at the 6:23 mark, turning a blocked Seawolves shot into an
opportunity the other direction. From 20 feet out, Gantz faked out
his defender to get a clear shot from the right side, netting his
second score of the day.

Morrell see-sawed the score back in Bryant's favor two minutes
later despite a pair of Stony Brook defenders dragging him to the
ground, flicking a low shot in on goal from the doorstep for the
5-4 lead.

"What a performance," said Pressler. "Shane looked like a
Division I attackman bringing the ball to the goal today. It was
only fitting that he got the winner on a great play from Brian
Schlansker on that 10th goal."

Another Eastwood score created the fourth draw of the contest,
5-5, but Dan Sipperly (Greenwich, N.Y.) would net
the final tally of the opening half off a pass from Morrell to send
the Bulldogs into the locker room with a 6-5 halftime edge.

But for all the scoring that was done in the first half, the
third quarter saw just a pair of goals, both scored by the home
side in the first and last minutes of the period from Mike Rooney
and Tundo, respectively.

Stony Brook would head into the fourth with the 7-6 advantage,
which Zomerfeld would quickly erase off a pass from Morrell less
than three minute into the final stanza. Morrell would put the
visiting Bulldogs back on top from the corner of the crease seconds
later following a faceoff win by Massa.

The sides would trade goals en route to two more ties to keep
the score even, 9-9, until the 3:19 mark, when Morrell connected on
the winner for the 10-9 final margin.

"I told the team the last couple of days to be prepared for
another one of these scenarios – one or two goals up or down
either way with five or six minutes left – and this time, we
were going to make the plays to win the game," said Pressler.
"Fortunately for us, in game eight, we did."

The Bulldogs have little time to celebrate, however, in the
midst of their most grueling stretch of scheduling. Bryant will be
back at it Tuesday night against intrastate rival Providence
College at the Bryant Turf Complex at 7:00 p.m.

"We've said all along that all we needed to do was get one,"
said Pressler. "To have that behind us and off our back is such a
relief, and to get this one on Tuesday against Providence College
would give our team great confidence to start this four-game
homestand."